Community & Business
9 August, 2021
PSHS students complete RYDA program
Years 10 and 11 students at Pittsworth State High School (PSHS) completed the Road Safety Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) program last Tuesday and Wednesday to learn all about being safe behind the wheel.
The RYDA program, which is run at schools across south-east Queensland and is delivered in partnership with Road Safety Education, includes the delivery of a series of practical sessions and talks from a number of facilitators on different topics with the aim of teaching students about how to be safe on the road.
This year, students at PSHS had the opportunity to hear from Sergeant Tim Hoffmann from Pittsworth Police and an Ambulance Officer from Oakey who shared their experiences as first-responders.
They also heard from Wendy Adams who was the victim of a horror crash that has now left her as a quadriplegic, living life in a wheelchair.
Wendy told the story of her accident and detailed the night her life changed forever, with the aim of opening the students’ eyes to the real dangers of the road.
TK’s Driving School from Toowoomba also attended on the day to present students with a practical session to try and change their attitudes towards road use in the hope of reducing the number of preventable fatalities among young motorists.
With use of a car and traffic cones they taught students about safe stopping times in relation to different speeds and the need to be aware of distractions on the road.
It was a timely reminder for the 124 students who attended the sessions as they gain their learner licence or transition to provisional drivers this year.
RYDA has been run in Pittsworth for approximately 10 years and is strongly supported by the Pittsworth Rotary Club which sponsors the two-day program.
The program is also funded by the Department of Transport and Main roads as well as a number of businesses, including Bridgestone.
